Practical Training
by Alpine-Dragon-Queen
Summary: It's the time of the year for Spyro to come and teach Jake some dragon skills but this time he brings along a friend to train Jake instead. Jake learns the hard way that ticking off Spyro's new can cause major problems...
1. Chapter 1

A/N: A friend on Deviant Art asked me to upload this here. Hope you enjoy...

Disclaimer: I don't own Spyro, Raziel or the AmDrag cast.

Practical Training

Chapter 1

It was a sunny and slightly hot summer day in New York City. Spyro smiled slightly as the breeze ruffled the hair of his human form, he rather enjoyed the feel, his companion on the other hand was far from pleased from being in this modern land. Spyro looked at the human-looking Raziel walking next to him and saw him tighten his clan marker over his nose.

"Raz... Aren't you hot wearing that and your jacket...?" The dragon asked as they turned the corner and headed for a little electronics store.

"Spyro, I'm dead and have no body heat. It takes a lot for me to get overheated... Why am I here again? This is your student..."

"Because... He is in severe need of hand to hand and weapon training, so much that I'm surprised he's still alive and since you're even better at those areas than I am. I thought it would be good for him to take a few lessions." Raziel only grunted in reply to Spyro's explaination and the two stayed quiet as they walked the last few feet to the store's door. Suddenly, a horrifing thought entered Spyro's mind and he swung around, almost running into Raziel while putting up his hands.

"Raz!"

"...Hmn...?"

"Raz, this kid can be kind of a know-it-all smart mouth. I know your nerves are a little frazzled from being in this world so if he ticks you off please don't rip open his throat!" Spyro pleaded as he tugged on the wraith's short jacket. The young dragon held his breath as he waited for his friend's answer though quickly sighed and bowed his head in relief as his friend hummed slightly in reply.

"Ok... Good. Cool, let's go in!" Spyro span back around and opened the door, stepping in. He was rather amazed by all the different little machines but sighed slightly as he heard Raziel hiss in disgust behind him.

"Aaah, Spyro, you are here...! Good, welcome." The young dragon perked up at the sound of the elder dragon greeting him.

"Master Lao Shi, nice ta see ya again, sir!" Spyro chirped as he rushed forward to shake  
>the older man's hand, a smile spreading over both their faces.<p>

"Spyro, who's your friend?" The elderly Chinese man asked politely making Spyro reach behind himself and grabbed Raziel by the jacket, pulling forward.

"This is Raziel, he's the one I brought to help Jake!"

"Greetings, young sir." The dragon master bowed to him and the wraith bowed slightly in return as Spyro leaned over and whispered in Lao Shi's ear.

"Hehe, Gramps, this guy's older than you are..." This bit of news actually surprised the older shifter.

"Oh my... I see. Well, I told Jake to come over, he'll be here soon."

"Cool! hey Gramps, any chance we can get something to drink? It was a long warp from Avalar." With a nod, the elder dragon master ushered his two guests to the back room where he kept all his magical items. He went into the kitchen to make some tea while Spyro sat on the couch with Raziel, the dragon could feel his friend's rippling and frazzled spiritual energy begin to calm and level out while being surrounded by old world items with magical properties; the feel beginning to remind him of his homeland.

"Ugh... It's too early..." Spyro yawned and leaned against the couch arm, Raziel snorted.

"Spyro, it's almost twelve in afternoon, you're just hungry..." Spyro was about to respond but was stopped by the sound of the shop's door slamming open and teenagers chattering.

"Gramps! I'm here, yo! Is there something you needed?" Spyro slammed the palm of his hand to his face as he felt Raziel's spirit energy spike in an agrivated manor. Lao Shi came into the backroom with a tray full of tea cups, "Jake, we're in the back room!"

~~~~~~

Jake headed towards the back room, his two bestfriends conversing with his girlfriend behind him. He chuckled as he listened to their conversation as he stepped into the backroom.

"Gramps, Fu Do-!"His words were cut off as he saw a familiar blond-haired boy sitting on his grandfather's couch, "Aww Maaaaan! It's that time already!"The blond stuck out his tongue in a mocking fashion as he took a cup of tea and the man with black-haired ponytail sitting next to him just glared with eerie golden eyes.

"Yo, Jakie, what up man? Long time no see. It's trainin' time again, mate!" Spyro snickered as he stood up and walked towards the Chinese-American boy, who's friends halted behind him.

"Aww man, Spyro, are you seriously here already? I thought it wasn't for another month!" Jake groaned and Spyro placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Nope! I'm here and I brought a friend!" He pointed a thumb toward Raziel, who was hiding a scowl under his scarf, "That's Raziel, don't freak by the way, he comes from a magical world." This didn't calm Jake one bit, he hated training with Spyro; the other young dragon made him work like a dog even more than Gramps.  
>Jake snorted and crossed his arms, "Dude, I don't think you could teach me any more dragon skills unless you've learned how to use those puny wings to get air born...! I mean why even have wings?" Everyone was shocked at Jake's uncharacteristic mocking of Spyro's lack of flight but Spyro's eyes didn't widen in shock but in fear; he could feel Raziel's energy spike to a dangerous level at the sound Jake making fun of Spyro's lack flight. The young dragon knew how much the inability to fly hurt the wraith because of his distroyed wings. Spyro swallowed the lump in his throat and tried desprately to get Jake to shut up,<p>

"Whoa dude, harsh but how about let's change the subject!" Unfortuneately, it didn't work.

"Hah! So you haven't then ya'll got nothin' ta teach me! My skills on the ground are unbeatable, I only need air training but with lame wings ya'll ain't worth my summer!" With this last remark about his wings, Jake found himself two feet above the ground held up by his throat with just one of Raziel's hands.

"You pathetic wretch, how dare you mock a fellow creature's lack of flight due to faulty wings! Do you think he wished for this injustice to be done to his wings!" The wraith hissed in his face, his anger fogging up his better judgement as his claws tightened on the Am Drag's throat. Jake stared down in horror at Raziel as Spyro quickly grabbed for the enraged wraith's wrist.

"Raz, let him go! He didn't mean it, he was just kidding!" Spyro was panicing and trying to sooth his friend's anger. His words seemed to get through to Raziel since he threw a gasping Jake on the floor and stormed out of the room. Spyro sighed in relief but quickly started to worry as Raziel left the shop.

"What was his problem, yo?" Jake gasped as Rose helped him to his feet while his grandfather shook his head in disappointment.

"Jake, that was very rude..." Lao Shi placed a worried hand on Spyro's shoulder, "Will he be ok, Spyro." The still shocked Spyro turned to Jake.

"Are you insane, man! You just ticked off a cold-blooded murder of a vampire that loathes humans and now he's loose in New York City!" Spyro yelled at him as he headed for the door after Raziel. Jake looked at his grandfather who was shaking his head again.

"Gramps, who was that?"

"That, Jake, was Spyro's friend who was going to teach you advanced hand-to-hand and weapon training. Spyro told me that his friend used to be a winged vampire but his wings were torn from him and now such things are a sore subject for the man. You have made a great wrong to both of them, you should help Spyro look for his friend and appolgize to both of them."

"Aww maaan..."

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	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

It took a good ten minutes for Jake to catch up with Spyro, who was roaming the streets.

"Spyro! Wait up, yo!" Jake gasped for breath as he grasped the other dragon by the sleeve, his three friends panting behind him. Spyro stopped and turned his head to Jake, snorting out smoke.

"Jake, what's wrong now?"

"We came to help you look for your friend." Spyro turned around at this and flicked his bangs back with a hand.

"Cool, thanks. First things first, is there any place in this city that does have an overwhelming amount technology? It makes Raz uncomfortable."

"Uhh, yeah.

"Good. Tell me where it is."

~~~

Spyro walked across the lawn near a hidden pond in Central Park; this was the most natural part of the park with not a fragment of technology in sight. He could feel Raziel's trail of spiritual energy leading him here but what he didn't like was the stench of blood saturating the small area. The young human-looking dragon's stomach flipped as his shoe made a strange squishing sound upon stepping on a patch of grass.

"UGh… That's disgusting! Raz…" Spyro folded his arms and followed the trail of bloodstained grass to a large boulder with a blood-drained corpse lying in front of it. He looked up at Raziel sitting atop the boulder, using a blood-soaked hand to play with something invisible; Spyro knew it had to be the corpse's soul. The tired human-looking wraith was a mess; crimson liquid dripped out the sides, down his chin and throat while also staining and dripping down his hands.

"Hiya, Raz… What's wrong? Not hungry, pal?" Spyro said softly as he stepped around the corpse, really hoping not to startle the wraith; eyeing the body suspiciously. Raziel's golden eyes flickered to him and then back to the soul before sighing.

"Perhaps not, Spyro… This body grows tired of the bitter taste of rotten humans…." Raziel motioned to body that lay in a puddle of its own blood, Raziel hadn't drank that much, "I see your worry, Spyro… But do not fear, this man was a murderer and a thief…" Spyro swallowed hard as he sat next to Raz's icy body, careful of not disturbing the tattered wings that lay across the boulder's surface.

"Oh… Well, I guess that's ok than…" Spyro continued to watch his friend play with the little soul, "What's up, man? You never play with your food and made bloody mess bigger than Kain's!" The wraith grinned at this, showing crimson stained fangs.

"Now, now… We can't have Kain lookin' good now can we…? The world surely must be ending now…" He remarked with a smirk before opening his now glowing mouth and pushing the bitter soul inside, letting its smooth texture run against his tongue.

"True dat, dood!" Spyro let out a laugh at the disgust look on Raziel's face at the taste,

"So, you ready to teach a little punk to respect his elders while you kick his tail from here to Mystic Marsh?"

"Yes, I do believe I am. Where shall the training be held?"

"Well, I told the old man that Jake's gonna need a wide open space in order to run for his life from you so we thought here in the park would be best, plus, you're probably most comfortable here."

"Good. Shall you fetch them?"

"No, they're totally hiddin' in the bushes…!" Spyro stuck his tongue out the side of his mouth in a comical manner, getting a tiny flash of a smile from Raziel before it disappeared again. The two slid off the boulder and Spyro whistled for them to come over.

"Spyro, won't we be seen within this landscape…?"

"We're cool, dood. Lao Shi set up magical shield so no one can see us." Spyro reassured his friend as they waited for the others.

~~~~

Jake heard the whistle and saw his grandfather step out from behind the bushes and head over to where Spyro was. The American Dragon stared in horror at the blood splattered across the lawn until his eyes rested on the dead body. His stomach felt like it was curling in on itself at the sight, after all the things he had seen a corpse in real life was not one of them. From the sounds behind him, neither had his friends but up ahead, his grandfather and Fu Dog seem mostly fine.

"Sorry, for the mess, Lao Shi…. Raz is usually such a clean eater…!" Spyro said with a nervous laugh and shrug as he waved to the group. Jake couldn't believe his eyes at the sight of the amount of human blood dripping off of Spyro's friend but was really strange was the fact that none of it seemed to get on that tattered scarf the man wore.

"Ugh… Jakie, I think I'm gonna be sick. You better be careful around this guy…." Trixie was right, this guy wasn't normal, far from it actually; at first he hadn't believed that he was a vampire but he did now.  
>Spyro reached up and slipped Raziel's clan flag from around the wraith's neck and held it carefully as Raziel gave him a wary look.<p>

"Don't sweat it, dude. I'll take good care of it, I know how much it means to ya and I don't want it getting' messed up while you fight." Spyro paused a second before smirking,

"Also, ya may wanna clean up." He motioned to the areas on the wraith that were covered in blood before going off to sit in the sidelines with Jake's friends and family.

"Will Jake be okay…? Your friend doesn't seem stable…." Rose said in a worried voice but Spyro only laughed.

"Hah! Good eye! We'll have to stop them before Raz gets really fired up in battle otherwise he's liable to rip open Jake throat and laugh." Everyone had to admit, especially Jake (who had been using Ear of the Dragon to listen in), that this disturbed them very much. Jake was starting to get really freaked out by Raziel, the took mere seconds for the guy to lick and wash all the blood off his hands and face before started towards Jake; he seemed to be completely oblivious of the cracking noise that came corpse's chest as he walked on it to get over to the American Dragon.

"Ok, Raz, I was thinkin' that you should train him first in his human form. There's gonna be days when he can use his dragon body to fight since he isn't a puree blood like my race." Spyro informed them once the two were about three feet away from each other.

"Sounds good... My human form needs training as well." Raziel clicked his tongue before motioning to Jake, "Allow me assess your skill, little dragon… Come at me…" Jake took a deep breath as Raziel let his arms drop to his sides, waiting for the dragon's attack. Jake took up an attack stance and a second later was using a combo martial arts movements with his hands while trying to catch Raziel with an occasion kick, which the wraith dodged easily like the rest of the boy's movements. Just as Jake was about to finish his combo, Raziel grabbed him by the wrist with one hand while the other thrust against the boy's chest, slamming him to the ground.

"Oof!" Jake groaned as Raziel placed his foot gently on the young dragon's chest.

"Jake, your movements are too slow and you leave yourself open quite a bit…" Raziel removed his foot from Jake's chest before grabbing the boy's shirt and yanking him to his feet, "Let us try again and I shall fight back this time." Jake watched as a strange blue mist seemed to leak from his opponent's eyes as they took their stances.

"The objective is for you to be able to get at least a small idea of what your opponent's next move may be so that you can protect yourself from it."

"I know that…"

"Then I ask you. Why have you not been using such skills in your combat against me?"

"Because I don't even know you?"

"Precisely the reason you should be trying it! Do you study all your opponents before heading into battle against them?"

"No. Half the time I don't even know where they're comin' from!"

"Exactly my point. You must study them as you battle and remember what you have learned. Also, do not get cocky or angry in battle, it creates openings for your opponent to catch you off guard." Raziel pointed out as he seemed to slip around Jake a thrusting the heel of his hand into the small of Jake's back.

"Ow! Hey!"

"Did you listen to anything I just said?"

"Yeah, but you're too fast to keep an eye on."

"I have been doing this for thousands of years but this new body of mine is much slower than I'm used to. You should be able to dodge me fairly easy if your skills are as good as you claim them to be…."

The training went on like this for about an hour before Jake finally landed a few hits on Raziel but not with suffering several bruising hits and some flesh tearing slashes from the wraith. The young American Dragon finally fell on his butt from exhaustion as Raziel simply stood over him with arms crossed.

"Had enough?" Raziel asked flatly to the panting boy who only shook his head. Jake had learned quite a bit in that hour and had actually gotten better at blocking; he just needed to catch his breath.

"Nah, I'm good, yo. Just need a sec…"

"As you wish… Which do you wish to work on next? You dragon or human skills? Or perhaps weapon training?" Dragon training was the only thing that sounded appealing to Jake at the moment; he didn't know how much more abuse his poor human body could take and he was kinda scared to see what this guy was like with a weapon if he could beat the crud out of him with just his hands.

"Yo, Raz. Jake looks a little beat; maybe you can cut him some slack to rest for a bit. Half dragons aren't as resilient to endless training the way the vampires you're used to training are…" Spyro said with a slight yawn, "How about you relax here while I go take him to get some lunch to restore his energy for more training? Sound good to you, Jake?" Jake nodded, still out of breath; he had only told Raziel that he could go on because he didn't want to look weak but every bone in his body felt like jelly.

"Cool! Let's head out everyone!" Spyro chirped happily as he hopped off the rock he was sitting on with the others.

______

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End file.
